Win at Pebble Beach adds to recent hot streak

Snedeker finally finds way to win

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – With one last birdie, Brandt Snedeker finally had a chance to catch his breath at one of the best places in golf.

He was on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach with a three-shot lead Sunday as he gazed into the sun at an endless ocean and tried to grasp just how far he has come in the past few months.

There was that big win at the Tour Championship to claim the $10 million prize as the FedEx Cup champion.

He played in his first Ryder Cup.

In his past nine tournaments, he has six finishes in the top three, including back-to-back weeks as the runner-up to Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

Snedeker wasn’t about to let anyone get in his way at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

“Just hard to put into words, to have a stretch of golf like I had the last couple of months,” Snedeker said after his two-shot win. “Something you dream about. Something you think that you can do, but you don’t really know until you actually put it together. And I have.

“I’m really enjoying this, and hopefully can parlay this into the best year of my career.”

He was the best all week at Pebble Beach, finishing at 19-under 267 to break by one shot the tournament record. Mickelson (2007) and Mark O’Meara (1997) each had a 20-under 268 when Poppy Hills was still in the rotation.

Snedeker built his lead in the final round by playing the opening seven holes in 5 under, fired at the flag on the par-3 17th to set up his last birdie and closed with a 7-under 65, his 10th consecutive round in the 60s.

A tap-in par on the 18th gave him a two-shot win over Chris Kirk, who stayed in the hunt all day without ever putting too much pressure on Snedeker.

The hottest player in golf, Snedeker finally has a trophy to show for it.

“The last 2 weeks, playing great but running into two Hall of Famers, really motivated me to go out and prove that I can handle the lead,” he said.

With his fifth career win – and fourth over the past 22 months – Snedeker improved to a career-best No. 4 in the world, making him the second-highest American in the world ranking behind Woods.

“Sneds is officially the best golfer on the planet right now,” Ian Poulter tweeted from home in Orlando, Fla. “Some serious golf he is playing.”

In five starts this year, the 32-year-old from Nashville already has a win, two second-place finishes and a third. He never had much of a chance against Woods at Torrey Pines or Mickelson at the Phoenix Open, who each had big leads going into the final round.

Snedeker was tied with James Hahn, a 31-year-old rookie from the Bay Area, and seized control with an eagle and three birdies on the opening seven holes. Snedeker responded to his only bogey, a three-putt at No. 9, by rolling in birdie putts on the next two holes.

Hahn was looking forward to learning something from his debut in the final group, and he saw Snedeker put on a clinic.

“I learned that he is a better guy than he is a golfer. The dude is world class,” Hahn said. “He’s obviously one of the best, if not the best golfer right now, and possibly for the last year. But how he conducts himself as a person on an off the golf course, that’s also world class. He deserved to win today. ... I’m sure if you ask him, it was never a doubt that he was going to win the golf tournament.”

Snedeker concurred.

“I definitely didn’t want to do anything but win today,” he said. “I was out there for one purpose and one purpose only, and I was extremely focused all day. I did a great job of staying patient and I did a great job of playing the golf course the way you’re supposed to play it.”